Blacksmith

Tale of a blacksmith

1. THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2. And children coming home from school Look in at the open door; They love to see the flaming forge, And hear the bellows roar, And catch the burning sparks that fly Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

3. He goes on Sunday to the church, And sits among his boys; He hears the parson pray and preach, He hears his daughter’s voice, Singing in the village choir, And it makes his heart rejoice.

4. It sounds to him like her mother’s voice, Singing is Paradise! He needs must think of her once more; How in the grave she lies; And with his hard, rough hand he wipes A tear out of his eyes.

5. Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, Onward through life he goes; Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night’s repose.

6. Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, For the lesson thou hast taught! Thus at the flaming forge of life Our fortunes must be wrought; Thus on its sounding anvil shaped Each burning deed and thought.

7. Forge - a furnace where metals are heated and wrought eg : The blacksmith’s forge was once a feature of all villages.

8. Bellows - an equipment that blows a strong current of air to make fire burn more fiercely. Eg : The blacksmith worked with the bellows to make the piece of iron hot.

9. Chaff - hunk of rain separated during threshing. Eg : The first step is to separate the chaff from the grain.

10. Thresh - to separate grains of corn, rice, etc. from the rest of the plant using a machine or by hitting it with a tool.

11. Preach - to give a religious talk in a public place, especially in a church during a service. Eg : She preached to the gathering about forgiveness.

12. Toil - work extremely hard eg : We toiled away.

13. SIMILES

14. The slow swinging of his heavy sledge is like a sexton ringing the village bell. The burning sparks are like chaff from a threshing floor.

15. What does the blacksmith do on Sundays? How does he feel? What is the blacksmith reminded of when he hears his daughter’s voice singing in the village choir? What would have happened to the blacksmith’s wife? Pick out lines from the poem to justify your answer? Pick out the words related to a blacksmith’s job from the poem?

16. ACTIVITY Prepare a character sketch of blacksmith.

17. The blacksmith is a hardworking man. He is a mighty man. He has large sinewy hands. The muscles of his brawny aims are strong as iron bands. His hair is crisp, black and long. His face is like the tan. He is engaging in his work from morning to night. Every Sunday he goes to church which makes his heart rejoice. He earns money from his job and leads a happy life.

18. ASSIGNMENT Prepare a short summary of the poem “The Village Blacksmith”.